Impact Study of the Coding as Another Language Curriculum: Study B
Zhanxia Yang; Patricia Moore Shaffer; Courtney Hagan; Parastu Dubash; Marina Bers (2023). Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED628951
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examining193Students, grade2
Grant Competition
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2024
- Grant Competition (findings for Coding as Another Language Using ScratchJr (CAL-ScratchJr))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with high cluster-level attrition, but the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
TechCheck |
Coding as Another Language Using ScratchJr (CAL-ScratchJr) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
7.87 |
8.31 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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24% English language learners -
Female: 54%
Other or unknown: 46% -
Urban
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Northeast
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 56% Other or unknown 44%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in second-grade classrooms from 20 different schools located in one public, high-poverty, urban school district in the northeastern United States.
Study sample
Approximately 54 percent of the students were female, 56 percent were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 24 percent were students with Limited English Proficiency, and 15 percent had an Individualized Education Program. The authors did not report sample characteristics for student race or ethnicity.
Intervention Group
Coding as Another Language Using ScratchJr (CAL-ScratchJR) is a curriculum designed to impact students’ computational thinking, coding skills, and reading comprehension. The curriculum is aligned with the K-12 Computer Science Framework and the Standards for Technological Literacy, as well as the Common Core Frameworks for Math and Literacy. It was implemented with students in second grade. In ScratchJr, children are able to create interactive stories and games by snapping together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. Through these activities, young children create personally meaningful projects while learning how to code and how to engage in computational thinking. The intervention is implemented over a 12-week period and consists of 24 lessons, each lasting 45 minutes and implemented during regular class time.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual second-grade instruction. Comparison group schools received no intervention of the curriculum during the time of the study, nor did the teachers in comparison schools have access to the CAL-ScratchJr teacher training during this time. Comparison teachers may have participated in other business-as-usual training and professional development offered by their schools or school district.
Support for implementation
Teachers in the treatment schools were trained in the delivery of the CAL-ScratchJr curriculum and provided resources and support to implement the curriculum prior to implementation. Training consisted of two 2-hour PD workshops, completing a personal project using the curriculum app, and exploring lessons aligned to the curriculum. Teachers also were able to request an on-site or virtual coach.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
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Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).